


The Locked Door

by ThePeridotRanger



Category: Original Work
Genre: Mystery, but i don't want to give away the ending, discovering family secrets, i would tag more things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-31
Updated: 2018-01-31
Packaged: 2019-03-12 02:01:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13537323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePeridotRanger/pseuds/ThePeridotRanger
Summary: Nathan just moved into his grandfather's old mansion. The mansion is huge and has many doors. There is one door that draws Nathan is, but there is one problem. It is locked.





	The Locked Door

**The Locked Door**

It took Nathan some time to find the location of the mysterious door. As Nathan and Anne were about to turn the corner, Nathan saw someone in the hall and held out his arm to stop Anne. He pointed to the figure, it was the old housekeeper, Aria. She stood right outside the locked door. The only door that was able to lock in the whole mansion. Nathan peeked around the corner to see what she was doing. The woman was supposed to be helping plan his grandfather’s funeral and last they saw she was in a different room. Nathan was disappointed, with Aria there no way were they going to get to the door.

Just as luck would have it, Aria’s cellphone rang. She left the hall in a frenzy. The call had something to do with the funeral. Apparently the funeral home had somehow double booked the room. A week of living in his grandfather’s mansion and Nathan was finally getting to see what was behind that door. His stormy grey eyes looked around as he combed his fingers through his dark brown hair in anticipation. Anne handed him her hairpin and he started picking the lock. The lock was simple, he knew all those mystery novels he read would come in handy one day. Nancy Drew had taught him so much.

His friend, Anne, was next to him making sure no one snuck up on them. If Aria had caught them breaking in, she would throw a fit. Nathan could not understand why the old woman even stayed at the mansion. She was retired and his parents couldn’t pay her.

After finally cracking the lock, Nathan let out a small “Ah Ha!” of accomplishment. He tapped on her shoulder and said, “Anne we’re going in.” She smiled, her face bright with excitement.

Nathan’s hand hovered over the old doorknob. Ever since he first saw the door he needed to know what was behind it. There was also fear. There was obviously a reason that the door was locked. A reason no one was allowed and Aria was so adamant about it. He felt Anne tap on his shoulder. She put her fingertips on her chin then moved her hand down into her other hand, then she pointed at him with a questioning look on her face. _You good?_ He smiled and nodded at her. Then he turned back to the door and put his hand on the knob…

 

Nathan stared out the car window in boredom. Music blasted through his headphones, blocking out all other noises. The landscape passing by couldn’t be more boring and beautiful at the same time. The grey mountains in the distance were shadowed with clouds as they passed in the sky. As much as Nathan enjoyed the wide open space, this really made him miss his New Jersey suburb. All he could see for miles was farmland and cows. The Western Maryland countryside had a certain uneasiness to it. He became more nervous when he saw a broken down barn with REPENT JESUS IS COMING written on what remained of the roof.

His father, Isaac, slowed the car and exited the highway. Almost there. It was at a gas station on the backroads of the middle of nowhere in Western Maryland, Nathan realized that he missed New Jersey more than anything. His mother, Julie, was trying to pump gas into the car, arguing with his father. She was saying something about how ridiculous the whole situation was. Nathan couldn’t really hear over the music playing in his earphones. She was born and raised in New Jersey, never lived anywhere else. His father was trying to teach her how to work the old pump.

His father had been teaching both of them a lot about the things that are different in Maryland. They were moving into his childhood home, so he wanted his family to feel comfortable. Nathan appreciated his father’s efforts, but this move was so sudden. One day he was going to school and hanging with his friends, the next his grandfather he never met was dead and they had inherited his mansion. It was hard to leave the house he grew up in, his home. He kept hearing, “You’ll get used to the new house quickly!” and “It’ll become your new home soon enough.” At this point, Nathan didn’t see how that was possible.

Maryland wasn’t his home, it never would be. Back in New Jersey he had his friends, he had his school, and he had that pizza place, Auditore Pizza, he went to on Fridays after school with his best friend. Seth had been his best friend since they were in kindergarten. Their goodbye was a tearful one. After Nathan had told him that he was leaving the two of them ate a whole pizza together for the last time. Nathan looked at his phone. He should text or call Seth when he gets to his new house.

Nathan was so lost in thought, he almost didn’t notice the car pulled up to a gothic mansion. Nathan saw the building and adjusted his dark framed glasses. He had not realized that his grandfather was this wealthy. The build was made of a grey stone and gargoyles’ eyes seemed to follow Nathan as he helped his parents unpack the car. A stained glass window sat in the middle of the front of the house, an owl.

His grandfather had passed away and left his mansion to his family. Just from that he should have realized that there was going to be a lot of weirdness at the new place. Nathan’s family was about to get evicted from their rental home for being behind on payments and the mansion had been completely paid off years ago. They gladly took the mansion.

They parked the car and got out to look at the view “Why don’t you explore the new place a bit?” His father told him. Nathan knew it was not a suggestion, so he went into the mansion. The wind outside had blown his hair, making it messier that usual. After entering the mansion, Nathan pulled out his phone and FaceTimed Seth. It rang for a bit, but Seth never picked up. He must be busy with something. _Got 2 the new place. Give u a tour when u’re not busy._ Nathan sent the text and put his phone back in his pocket.

There were a ridiculous amount of rooms all of which had ornate doors. All of them except for one. One room had just a simple wooden plank as a door, with a basic doorknob. When Nathan tried to open it, the door was locked. This only sparked his curiosity even further. He needed to find out the mystery of the locked door.

“Stay away from that door.” Nathan turned around in shock. Behind him stood a woman in her late 70’s. She looked angry at him. “Who are you anyway?” she snarled at him “This is _my_ house. Get out!”

“I live here. My parents got this house from my grandfather, D. Athans.” Nathan put his hands up in surrender, backing away from the door. He had no clue who this woman was and her anger was so genuine.

The old woman sighed in disappointment. “So you’re Nathan Athans then, your Grandfather told me a lot about you.” This only proved to confuse Nathan more. He never met his grandfather. He never even knew he had one until he died. How had Mr. Athans told this strange woman all about him?

He did not have much time to think before she asked, “Your parents are outside, right?” Nathan nodded. She gestured her arm for him to follow her and against his better judgment, he followed. “Don’t look so nervous kid.” Her harsh voice rang out in the silence of their walk. “I just want to see your parents. I didn’t expect you all so soon.”

“Nathan there you are! We’ve been looking for you.” his mother ran up to them trapping him in a big hug.

“We’ve been looking for less than a minute Julie.” Nathan’s father said exasperated. His mother could be a bit overprotective when it came to him. She was a fifth grade teacher. Sometimes he wondered if she could tell the difference between her ten year old students and her sixteen year old son. Not far behind her was his father, Isaac. He was a struggling actor and currently works teaching acting to young kids. Two teachers for parents, no wonder Nathan ended up with a love for learning.

“You’re early.” The old woman said her voice full of annoyance.

“We are?” Isaac asked, “I thought we were to move in as soon as possible. Who are you?”

The woman huffed in frustration. “I’m the housekeeper, Aria Blackwell. Mr. Athans hired me to help take care of his mansion. Julie was about to say something when Aria interrupted her, “I’m retired now. I take care of the house as a hobby. It’s been years since I was paid and I don’t expect it. Mr. Athans left some money to me on his will and that should suffice.” Nathan saw his parents relax, not even noticing just how tense they had been. “I will show you all to your rooms.” Aria spun around on her heels and started walking towards a grand staircase.  Seemed like taking care the house kept her in good shape despite her years. Nathan looked to his parents, who shrugged and followed the old woman up the stairs. Maybe living here would be more interesting than Nathan expected.

 

Breakfast is served at six am and the high school starts at seven. That’s what Aria told Nathan before he went to bed. Now it was 6:30 am, he missed breakfast and his father had to drive him to school. Nathan could tell from his incredible start that it was going to be a great year.

The school building was a bit smaller than his last school. That was the first thing Nathan notice as his dad pulled up. “Make lots of friends and have a great first day!” Isaac called out as Nathan closed the car door and walked into the building. The principal was nice enough, she just welcomed him to the school and gave him his schedule and locker. They joys of entering a school mid-year.

His new school seemed to be an expanded on room school house. The newer section we bright and shiny compared to the dull yellow of the older parts. Regardless of where you were there were school pride posters for the football team littering the walls. The whole school smelled of horse poop constantly. It made him wonder just how many of the students owned horses. The smell perfectly described the school to Nathan. Shitty.

He had hoped that his first day would be uneventful. Introductions then straight into the lesson. Unfortunately that didn’t happen. After his first period, history, a group of three guys in varsity football jackets came up to him. He felt dread in his stomach. They looked like they just stepped out of an 80’s coming of age move. Like The Breakfast Club. “Hey, new kid!”

“It’s Nathan Athans.” He corrected them.

“You seem to be good at history.” The guy in the middle, probably the leader, moved closer to Nathan. The other two went to both of his sides and put their arms around him. “You see,” the leader continued, “Coach says if we don’t get our grades up we can’t play.”

“So you want some tutoring?” Nathan asked, hoping that’s all they wanted.

The three of them laughed, “That would definitely help if we had time. Football practice comes first. You’re gunna do our homework for us, that should get us a decent enough grade.” Nathan stared at the three guys in shock. He felt like he had been transported in to a 80s teen movie. These three guys were a living bad stereotype of high school jocks. They were really trying to get the nerdy new kid to do their homework?

Nathan really wanted to tell them no, but they were a lot bigger than him and he was outnumbered. So, Nathan stood there and nodded numbly looking at his feet. They smiled and patted him on the back before they left. Great. First day of his new school and it seems he’s become a target for the school bullies. Nathan looked up to continue on to class. His eyes met a red head girl. She immediately looked away and walked into the nearest classroom. Only one question was in his mind: How much did she see?

At lunch, Nathan chose to eat his sandwich in the library so he could do some reading and avoid other students. Before picking a book he checked his phone. No messages from Seth, but there was one from his mom telling him to have a good day. The text he sent when he first arrived was labeled as “delivered”, Seth never had read receipts on his phone. He sighed, wondering what was keeping his friend from sending him a message.

Nathan looked around the library the shelves were packed with everything from encyclopedias to graphic novels. It was quiet, just a few other students were sitting around. This was much better that the loud, distracting nature of a high school cafeteria. Nathan always tried to avoid those, it was hard to hear his friends when everyone in there was talking at once. He looked through the shelves, trying to find a book that interested him. The old saying, “never judge a book by its cover” held no meaning in a library filled with hundreds of books. After he found a book of Greek myths he sat down and began his lunch period. Nathan’s parents used to tell him these as bedtime stories. He rolled his eyes every time Zeus slept with someone he was not supposed to, which was quite often.

Nathan soon got to his favorite story, Daedalus and Icarus. The son of Athena builds a labyrinth and in trapped there by a greedy king with his son. Daedalus builds the two of them wings to escape, but Icarus flies too close to the sun, falls into the sea, and drowns. Sad, but it gives a good message.

Nathan was so engrossed in the story that he almost missed that someone had tapped on his shoulder. He looked up to see the girl from the hallway earlier. “Hi.” He said waving shyly at her. Not many people were interested in talking to the new kid. He had started avoiding the other students since the incident with the football players earlier in the day. They all had seemed content with avoiding him as well.

The girl looked confused. Then she pulled out a small white board and a dry erase marker. Nathan felt just as confused as she had looked as she quickly wrote something out on the board. Did this girl have a sore throat? She handed him the white board.

_Hey I’m Anne. I saw what happened with Todd, Chad, and Brad earlier. I’m sorry they were the first people you met here. We’re really not all like that, they’re just jerks to everyone. Would you mind if I hang out with you? I normally eat in here alone, not many kids here bothered to learn ASL to talk with me. If you’re cool with a lot of writing._

Those football players’ names’ were Todd, Chad, and Brad? The stereotype keeps growing. Luckily for the both of them, Nathan came from a town with a deaf school. He had many friends he met in around town who were deaf and taught him ASL. He signed, “Or we can sign.”

Anne’s face lit up with joy. “You really know ASL?” she signed excitedly. Her facial expression and hand movements so ecstatic that Nathan almost couldn’t tell what she was saying.

He nodded, “My name is Nathan Athans.” He finger spelled his name quickly, introducing himself to Anne.

“You already know my name.” she signed, then looked at the book he was reading, “You like Greek mythology I see. I was never into that stuff myself.”

“Yeah my dad used to read me these stories before bed. I could teach you a bit if you want.” Nathan answered her.

“Sure. It’s about time I tried to find out what people found so great about these stories.” Anne agreed. She sat there, patiently smiling as Nathan gushed about is favorite stories. He could tell she wasn’t into it, so he soon stopped and they talked about other things for the rest of the period.

“We should hang out more.” Nathan signed after the end of lunch bell rang. He was happy to have finally met someone nice and he was sure she was happy to meet someone she could easily talk to. The whole situation felt like he was back in elementary school where it was so easy to click with other people and make friends. He somehow managed to forget about Seth for the moment.

“I agree.” Anne then took out a piece of paper, wrote something on it. It was her number. “I need go to class. See you around.”

 

Later on the car ride home, Nathan put Anne’s number in his phone and sent her his name. “Who’re you texting?” Isaac Athans asked his son.

“I met a friend at lunch today.” Nathan replied, not looking up from his phone.

“You should invite her over for dinner next week.” His father suggested, “Your mom and I want to meet your new friend.”

Nathan thought about it. “Sure.” He said as he sent a text to Anne about the dinner.

 

Nathan wished the dinner with his family could have gone smoothly. His parents had been grateful for Aria at first, but now they really wished she didn’t come with the house. Dinner was filled with awkward conversation as Aria served them food she had cooked. Nathan’s parents had tried to cook themselves, but they were yelled at. Cooking was the old housekeeper’s job and she didn’t like when other people tried to do it.

Nathan’s parents knew that the loss of Mr. Athans must still be hard on Aria, but it was clear that they were sick of her after only a week. Anne shifted in her seat with the pressure of the tension of the room at dinner. Nathan tried his hardest to ease the tension with jokes, but the adults weren’t having it. His parents kept trying to hint that they can do things themselves and Aria would hint that there was no way that she would be leaving.

After dinner was over, Nathan then took Anne on a tour of the mansion. Scattered throughout the grand halls were paintings. Renaissance paintings of classical Greek characters and Greek landscapes seemed to be Mr. Athans’ favorites. “Your grandfather really liked ancient Greece.” Anne observed. Nathan nodded in agreement. Maybe his grandfather was where his father got his love of Greek myths.

On their journey through the mansion they came across a closed door. It looked just like all the others - mahogany wood, with gold painted orate designs. Most of the doors in the house remained opened, a rule made by his grandfather that Aria strictly held. Anne motioned for him to put his ear against the door. Unable to think of a reason not to, he did.

They came to the smallest painting, right by the locked door. It was a painting of a young man who looked like Nathan. He could only assume that it was of his grandfather when he was young. A tap on his shoulder brought him to look at Anne. “Did your grandfather have a first name?” she signed. Nathan thought about the question. Everyone only ever called his grandfather Mr. Athans and official documents had him as D. Athans. No one seemed to know the man’s first name. His father never talked about the man, Nathan always assumed they had a bad relationship. He pointed his fingertips at his right cheek and then pointed them away as if he were giving a salute. _Don’t know._

“I don’t know what you’re hiding behind that door Mr. Athans, but I’m keeping my promise to you.” It was Aria’s voice that Nathan heard. He relayed the information in sign to Anne. She was talking to his grandfather. He could just imagine the old woman sitting and having a conversation with a picture of his grandfather. “The boy, Nathan, tried to get in on his first day here. I stopped him, don’t worry sir. I have a feeling that boy is too curious for his own good.” That was something that Nathan was told often. When he was seven he got a bad case of poison ivy all over his arms and legs. He had seen a new plant on a family camping trip that summer. His curiosity got the better of him and seven year old Nathan just had to pick some to show his parents. He was itchy for weeks after that.

“What door is she talking about?” Anne asked him, pulling his mind out of the painful memory. 

“This house is full of mysteries.” Nathan signed to Anne, “Wanna help with one?”

Anne smiled, “I’m always up for a good mystery.”

Nathan explained about the locked door in the dark hallway. The door was so out of place. It was just a blank wooden door. The other doors had ornamentation on them. Golden colored flowers and swirls decorated the mahogany doors. Anne excitedly urged Nathan to bring her to the door.

 

Now the door was open. A staircase lead into darkness. If they wanted to know what lay ahead they would have to go down the stairs. Anne looked at Nathan and made a motion like she was dropping a ball in her hand from above her head with a confused look on her face. She was asking about the light. If they went down there without light, there would be no way for them to communicate. In response, Nathan pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight. “Stay close to me.” He signed, then held out his hand for her to take.

“What are you two doing?” Nathan and Anne turned around to see Aria running after them. They were caught and they had a very angry old woman after them. Without thinking, Nathan grabbed Anne’s hand and began running down the stairs. He slammed the door shut behind them. Frantically, he searched the inside of the door for a lock, which he then promptly locked. Anne gave him a concerned look. “I panicked. Sorry.”

As they descended into the dark abyss, Nathan felt a mixture of excitement and anxiety. On one hand he was finally going to figure out what his mysterious grandfather was hiding. The only thing he kind of knew about his grandfather was that he probably really like ancient Greek history. Aria was so protective of the room. What if his grandfather was a serial killer? What if…

Nathan’s thoughts were interrupted as they reached the bottom of the stairs. They were met with a long hall lit by torches. “Who lit the torches?” Anne asked, her face and body language filled with fear. There must be someone down here with them. He put both his fists in front of his chest and suddenly opened them, then pointed at Anne with a questioning look on his face. _You scared?_ Anne shook her head “no” confidently.

They moved forward to the end of the hall, where it split in two directions. It was like a maze. The realization hit Nathan like a ton of bricks. He felt his chest tighten in fear and awe. One look at Anne’s face and he knew that she had come to the same conclusion. It was like the Labyrinth from those ancient Greek stories. Nathan’s grandfather had a really bad obsession with ancient Greece. “What should we do?” Anne asked, looking at Nathan for guidance. This labyrinth was in his basement, it was his choice what they would do.

“Are you OK if we keep going?” Nathan signed to Anne.

“Of course.” Anne replied with a huge smiled on her face. Nathan took a black Sharpie out of his pocked and drew an arrow on the wall pointing back towards the stairs.

“Let’s go.”

As they walked by, the orange glow of the torches illuminated the pitch black maze lining the walls every few feet. The light revealed that the walls and floor were a dark sand color. Nathan could only assume that they were made of sandstone, not that he would know. The ceiling was so high that they could not see it. How far down were they? Nathan couldn’t remember the stairs being that long. They occasionally stopped so that Nathan could draw an arrow on the walls, directing them back to the exit. Left. Left. Left. Right. They kept turned down the various halls, always staying the left side to ensure they wouldn’t get lost.

Bang! Something crashed to their right, making Nathan jump. Anne, seeing his movement out of the corner of her eyes, looked at him, face full of concern.  “Something crashed over there.” Nathan signed to Anne, pointing in the direction of the sound.

“Well then, let’s go that way.” Anne signed back, urging Nathan towards the sound.

Nathan was hesitant to go, “It sounded like a bomb.”

“The door was locked, Nathan. Who could be down here? Something must have fallen.” Anne reasoned. Nathan reluctantly led them towards the area he heard the sound coming from.

The snake-like tunnels soon gave away to a small room. There was a workbench with various tools for measurement on it. There was also a small desk with papers littering every inch. Nathan walked over to the desk, curious about the papers. That’s when he noticed the photos on the desk. The first one he recognized was a picture of his father’s college graduation. That was odd, but maybe this was his grandfather’s workshop. When they were driving up to the mansion, Nathan’s father told him that his grandfather was an architect, so this must have been where he worked. It was still weird that it was in the middle of a labyrinth. 

“Who are you kids?” Nathan was startled by the voice of an elderly man with a thick, Greek accent. He grabbed Anne and turned her around with him. They were face to face with a man who looked like he was in his 90’s. He had a long, white beard, much like Dumbledore or Gandalf’s. He wore old fashioned looking glasses on top of similar looking stormy, grey eyes. The anger on his face seemed to melt away as his eyes met Nathans. There was something oddly familiar about the man, like he saw him somewhere before. “How did you get down here?” the man demanded.

Anne looked at Nathan in fear, she never could read lips. All she saw was this random old man, who looked annoyed and kept talking to them. “He just wants to know who we are and how we got down here.” He reassured her.

The man noticed Nathan’s hands moving to communicate with Anne. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you couldn’t hear.” He signed at the two of them. This old man was just full of surprises. Then he spoke and signed at the same time, “Nathan how did you find your way down here?” Nathan was frozen. The strange old man knew his name. How did he know his name? Who was this man?

“I…I picked the lock.” Nathan admitted, full of fear. The man didn’t seem to realize the fear he managed to strike into his heart at first. The man looked frustrated with something.

“I told Aria that no one was ever allowed here,” he muttered, barely loud enough, “Even in the event of my death.”

“Your death?” Nathan’s voice was quiet. He needed to make sure he had heard right.

The old man looked at him angrily, “You need to leave kid.”

Nathan thought for a minute about what the old man said. He could agree and leave, be complacent like he was with the bullies at school. That would be such a waste of his time and energy. He wanted answers. He was thrown into a mansion of a grandfather he never knew. There was even a housekeeper he never knew about. He wanted to know.

“No.” he told the old man. “I want…no, I _need_ to know what’s going on. Why is there a maze under my house? Who are you? Why is there an old man living down here? How do you know my name? How do you know Aria? What do you mean by ‘even in the event of my death’?” Nathan said with more confidence and force that ever before. He was angry and he needed answers.

The old man looked impressed with Nathan’s little speech. The old man seemed to be contemplating his options for a moment. Then he sighed defeated, “I guess I owe you an explanation, since you managed to get down here after all.” He walked over to the desk covered in papers. Nathan and Anne kept a close eye on the mysterious old man as he picked up the photo of Isaac Athans and sat down in the chair. “It had been a long time since my first son had died.” He began. “I’m cursed and never thought I would have another, but then Isaac arrived.”

Nathan’s eyes widened at the new realization. “But…you’re supposed to be dead.”

“I should be dead hundreds of times over son.” Nathan’s grandfather told him. “I fake my death every so often so people don’t realize that I’m immortal. I stay out of the spotlight so no one gets suspicious.”

Nathan and Anne looked at each other. His grandfather was immortal? How old was he really? Anne took her hand and put her thumb to her chest, wiggling her other fingers. _Cool_. It was pretty cool, but also confusing and, frankly, a little bit scary. Nathan was about to start asking questions when his grandfather interrupted him. “I know you have a lot of questions. I’ll get the basic out of the way. My name is Daedalus. I can’t remember how old I am, but you probably know me.”

Nathan was dumb-founded. His grandfather was Daedalus, the architect of the original Labyrinth. The guy who got trapped in there with his son because he was the only one who knew its secrets. The guy who made wings to allow them to escape. The guy who was a demigod, the child of Athena. “Wait does that mean…” Nathan began to ask, only to be interrupted again.

“This is the original Labyrinth. It is my creation. Like a child, it follows me where ever I go.” Daedalus answered him. Nathan and Anne looked around, they were in awe. All the stories they read and loved, they were true. Nathan was the grandson of an ancient Greek hero. The idea of it still hadn’t full sunk in. Of all the things that could be behind that locked door, this was the least likely. He had never even thought of it.

Anne had her hand open as she brought her thumb to her chin. Then with her mouth in an “O” she put her hand in a fist and flicked her thumb from her chin. She was asking about Daedalus’ mother. “Who is my mother?” he asked to clarify her question. Nathan confirmed Daedalus’ translation. “You know the stories, my mother is Athena, goddess of wisdom and battle strategy.”

Anne began signing again, “Does this mean the gods are real and all those stories?” Nathan turned to his grandfather, a living myth, curious of the answer.

Daedalus chuckled. “Are you asking if everything people believe in nowadays is wrong?” He walked over to his desk and sat down. “I don’t know how to explain it.” He admitted staring down at all the papers.

“I have been to Hades. I have seen the Furies and Cerberus. I have even seen some of the gods themselves.” He took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I also knew people who have seen the miracles of Jesus and have seen Anubis. Even with all my years of life, the mysteries of the world are still very much mysteries.”

It was confusing, but maybe religions had so much in common because they were all true. It was a bit of a stretch, but Nathan wasn’t going to try and understand what is grandfather who was hundreds of thousands of years old couldn’t. He looked over to see Anne, she nodded like to say that she understood him. Anne turned to Nathan and signed, “Do you know what this means?” Nathan was confused with her excited expression.

The gears in his head started turning. Daedalus was is grandfather. Daedalus’ mother was a goddess. “My great-grandmother is _Athena_?” Nathan asked blown away by the new information. “I’m part _god_?”

“Yes. Not a very big part, but you are a demigod.” Daedalus confirmed. They stood in the workshop and talk for a bit longer before Daedalus decided it was time for Nathan and Anne to go home. “It’s getting late and your parents will be worried.”

“What about you?” Nathan asked, “Everyone thinks you’re dead. Aria and Dad seem upset about it.”

“Aria is a good friend and she will be helpful to you and your parents.” Daedalus said. “I can’t stay as much as I want to. If I stay too long people will become suspicious and I rather not become a science experiment. So, no telling anyone about me, not even your parent, either of you.” Nathan frowned, he understood why his grandfather couldn’t stay, but that didn’t mean he liked it. “You won’t be able to find me down here much longer either.” Nathan looked at the old man, his face asking for an explanation. “I’m moving, getting a new identity. Maybe I’ll go to France this time, I have been there since the Revolution in 1789. I’m pretty sure things have calmed down from that. No more chopping heads off.” He chuckled at his own joke.

“I really want to know you better, grandfather.” Nathan said, looking at his grandfather. There were still so many questions to ask, things to be done.

“I’m sorry that I never got the chance to meet you until now.” Daedalus said with a sad smile, “I think your father could tell I was hiding a secret and he may have resented me a bit for it. I am glad that we got the chance to meet though, but I can’t stay. I’m sorry Nathan.” The older man brought Nathan in for a hug. Nathan saw that Anne was standing awkwardly and invited her to join. The three then said their last goodbye.

After making the trip back to the door, Nathan and Anne slowly opened it making sure no one was looking for them. Behind them Nathan closed the door and locked it again. The mystery may have been solved, but there were still questions. There would always be questions. Nathan knew he may never have all the answers, but that wouldn’t stop him from trying. He started making plans with Anne to try and keep track of his grandfather.

In a few days the Labyrinth would be replaced with a small room with a single note. _Maybe I’ll see you again one day._ Nathan sighed and read the letter for the fifth time, sitting alone in the room. Each time he read it he hoped to find a clue to his grandfather’s location. Sighing once again, he turned over the letter to put it down. He saw the back and eyes shone with joy as he read it. Yes. Nathan was sure they would meet again.

 


End file.
